Australian Bird Names

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Origins and Meanings

Second Edition By: Ian Fraser, Jeannie Gray

eBook - September 2019 - eRetailers

An entertaining account of the stories behind the names of Australian birds.

This second edition of Australian Bird Names is a completely updated checklist of Australian birds and the meanings behind their common and scientific names, which may be useful, useless or downright misleading! + Full description

For each species, the authors examine the many-and-varied common names and full scientific name, with derivation, translation and a guide to pronunciation. Stories behind the name are included, as well as relevant aspects of biology, conservation and history. Original descriptions, translated by the authors, have been sourced for many species.

As well as being a book about names, this is a book about the history of the ever-developing understanding of birds, about the people who contributed to this understanding and, most of all, about the birds themselves. This second edition has been revised to follow current taxonomy and understanding of the relationships between families, genera and species. It contains new taxa, updated text and new vagrants and will be interesting reading for anyone with a love of birds, words or the history of Australian biology and bird-watching.

- Short description

Reviews

"The wealth of meticulously researched information presented in this book makes it an essential reference for anyone keen about birds and words, and a very welcome addition to ornithological literature."
Virgil Hubregtse, The Victorian Naturalist 136(6), 2019

"This wonderful book by Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray fills a niche in the available bird literature as it seeks, and achieves admirably, to explain in depth how the Latin and English names of our Australian birds came about. ...If you are wondering what a Dick, Dick, the Devil is, or a howling jackass, or even a doubtful reed-bellower, then this is the book for you."
Libby McGill, Western Australian Bird Notes 172, December 2019

"In truth there is little for the carping critic to cavil about. All in all, Australian Bird Names: Origins and Meanings is a most valuable reference work, rich in interesting information of a kind not easily found elsewhere. It is good to see that CSIRO Publishing appreciates the need to keep it up to date."
Kevin Windle, Canberra Bird Notes 44(3), December 2019

"At times amusing and always interesting, this book a would make an excellent addition to the bookshelf of anyone who is interested in birds, words or history."
Rhianna King, Landscope, Autumn 2020

"Birdwatchers with a thirst for knowledge about all manner of trivia and history will enjoy poring through hundreds of pages crammed with details."
John Peter, Australian Birdlife, December 2019

Details

Features

Offers readers a greater understanding of the origins and bases for the names and relationships of Australian birds, which will in turn provide greater appreciation of and familiarity with the birds themselves
Presented in an entertaining and discursive manner, so that it can be read for enjoyment, as well as a reference
Expanded, rewritten and reorganised to conform taxonomically to the most recent version of the International Ornithological Committee’s (IOC) World Bird List (Version 8.2), including the addition of new vagrants and taxa

Acknowledgments
Introduction to the First Edition
Introduction to the Second Edition
Non-Passerines
Passerines
References
Index of common names
Index of scientific names

View the full table of contents (PDF, 74kb)

Authors

Ian Fraser is a naturalist, conservationist, author, ABC broadcaster, natural history tour guide, environmental consultant and adult educator, who has lived and worked in Canberra since 1980. He was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion in 2006 and a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018 for services to conservation and the environment, and is the author of A Bush Capital Year and Birds in Their Habitats.

Jeannie Gray is a retired teacher and counsellor with a lifelong passion for the study of languages and natural history.